Mail-transporting apparatus.



L. B. SELF.

MAIL TBANSPORTING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.26. 1918.

1,288,700, Patented Dec. 24, 1918.

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LUTHER BIRD SELF, OF ABERDEEN, WASHINGTON.

MAIL-TRANSPORTING APPARATUS.

Application filed August 26, 1918.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, IJUTHER BIRD SELF, a citizen of the United States, residing at A-berdeen, in the county of Grays Harbor and State of l Vashington, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail- Transporting Apparatus, of which the following is a specification. reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to an improved mail transporting apparatus, and has for its primary object to provide means particularly designed for use upon rural mail routes, whereby the mail carrier or receptacle may be quickly transported from the road to the house.

It is a more particular object of my invention to provide an apparatus for the above purpose embodying a pair of carrier supporting wires or cables suitably mounted and arranged at one of their ends upon a post or standard adjacent to the road,and means for vertically adjusting the other ends of said cables upon a supporting post at the houseor residence to cause the gravity movement of a carrier upon one cable from the road to the house and a simultaneous gravity movement of another carrier on the other cable from the house to the road.

It is one of the detail objects of my invention to provide improved means for positively assuring the movement of the mail carrier at the road end of the line, in case it should, for any reason, fail to start when the lines or cables are adjusted.

And it is a further general object of my invention to provide an apparatus as above characterized, which is relatively simple in its construction, may be manufactured and installed at comparatively small cost, and

is highly serviceably and convenient in practical use.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists in the improved form, construction and combination of the several parts as will be hereinafter more fully de scribed, illustrated in the accompanying drawing, and subsequently defined in the appended claim.

In the drawings, wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, Figure 1 is a side elevation illustrating one embodiment of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view;

Fig. 3 is a detail elevation showing the Specification of Letters latent.

Patented Dec. 24, 1918.

Serial No. 251,557.

mounting of the lines or cables adjacent to the house; and

Fig. 4 is a detail elevation showing the arrangement of the tappet member atthe road end of the line for insuring the gravity movement of the carrier.

Referring in detail to the drawing, 5 desi nates a suitable post or standard which is arranged at the side of the road. In the upper end of this standard, a horizontally disposed rod or bolt 6 is secured. To the ends of this bolt, the laterally spaced wires or cables 7 are suitably connected at one of their ends.

Upon a post or standard 8, adjacent to the house or residence, a vertically disposed frame9 is rigidly secured intermediate of its ends, as at 10. This point of attachment of the frame 9 is in horizontal alinement with the bolt 6 which is fixed in the upper endof the post 5. If convenient, one of the porch posts may be used instead of a separate standard 8 for the attachment and support of the frame 9. In the upper and lower ends of this frame, the sprocket wheels 11 are rotatably mounted, said wheels being connected by the endless chain 12. The other ends of the wires or cables 7 are attached to the respective stretches of the chain 12 adjacent'to the respective sprocket wheels 11, as shown at 13. Upon each of the wires or cables 7, the mail box or carrier 14 is mounted, said carrier being suspended from a yoke in which a peripherally grooved roller or pulley is mounted and engaged upon the upper side of the wire or cable. The axis of the wheel is preferably mounted in suitable ball hearings to insure its easy and free rotation.

A bolt or rod 15 is also fixed in the upper end of the post 5 and projects from the inner face thereof between the laterally spaced cables 7. Upon this bolt, a tappet member 16 is loosely mounted intermediate of its ends. This member, which is in the form of a metal bar, is bifurcated at each end, as shown at 17, to straddle the respective wires or cables 7.

In the operation of the apparatus, the mail box or carrier 14 adjacent the 0st 5 is suspended from the wire or cable which extends inwardly and upwardly from the road to the upper chain sprocket 11. The other of the carriers 14 on the downwardly inclined wire or cable 7 at the inner end thereof is disposed adjacent to the other of lower sprocket 11. The two carriers 14 will thus move by gravity down the inclined cables, and the carrier containing the mall I will move from the road post 5 to the post 8, while the empty carrier will move downwardly from the upper cable to the road post. In case, for any reason, the carrier in which the mail has been deposited should fail to move after the cables have been adjusted'as just explained, the empty carrier moving down the upper cable will strike the upper end of the tappet'member 16 and force ittoward the post 5. The opposite end ofsaid member will thus kick against the carrier l t and positively force the same inwardlyuponthe lower cable 7 so that it will gravitate downwardly thereon to the post .8. Thus, it will be seen that the mail which has been deposited in the carrier can be easily and quickly obtained without necessitating that the occupant shall leave the house, which is of very material advantage in inclement weather. It will, of course, be understood that the lines or cables upon which the carriers are mounted for travel may be made of various lengths within certain limits, and the spa'ce between the ends of the cables at the house or residence varied accordingly so as to obtain the requisite inclination of the cables, whereby the gravity movement of travel of the carriers is assured. While I have referred to a separate supportprovided therefor.

ing frame for the sprocket wheels 11 and the chain which reverses the same, it will be apparent that, if desired, these wheels might be mounted directly upon the post or standard 8 or other suitable means of support Any desired construction of the box or carrier to receive the mail may be used in conjunction with the apparatus. The form, proportion and relative arrangement of the other structural features of the device are likewise susceptible of many modifications and it is, accordingly, to be understood that I reserve the privilege of adopting all such legitimate changes as may be fairly embodied within the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

I claim In a mail transporting apparatus, supporting posts spaced from each other, a pair of laterally spaced cables fixed with relation to each other at one of their ends'on one of the posts, a carrier to travel gravity on each cable, means for simultaneously adjusting the other ends of saidcables vertically on the other of saidposts to dispose the cables at an inclination and thereby cause the gravity travel of the carriers in opposite directions from one post to the other, and means mounted upon the first named post to be engaged by one carrier at the end of its descent, said means engaging the other carrier in the event of failure of said carrier to move when the cables are adjusted, whereby the latter carrier is p0sitively started upon its gravity movement.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afliX-my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

- L. BIRD SELF. Witnesses:

C. M. CLOUD, JOHN TENWIOK.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. 0. 

